Rick Perry brings CPAC crowd to its feet

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Texas Gov. Rick Perry delivered one of the best-received speeches so far at the Conservative Political Action Conference, bringing the audience to its feet and eliciting loud cheers Friday morning as he outlined a small-government vision and praised the accomplishments of fellow Republican governors.

Perry, whose 2012 presidential campaign crumbled amid a series of missteps — including the infamous “oops” moment, in which he forgot one of the three federal agencies he wanted to abolish — is weighing another go-round in 2016, and his allies insist that this time, the campaign would go differently. At CPAC, he offered a preview of what his message might look like.

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“There is a price to be paid for policies that destroy the economy and embolden foreign enemies,” he said. “I am here today to say, we don’t have to accept recent history. We just need to change the presidency. It’s not too late for America to lead in the world, but it starts by leading at home.”

Perry, who has long argued that the best solutions are found in the states, took swings at liberal New York and California, and nodded to several of his fellow GOP governors: Nikki Haley of South Carolina; Rick Scott of Florida; Bobby Jindal of Louisiana; and Scott Walker of Wisconsin. Conspicuously absent from his list was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who spoke to CPAC the day before and had long been considered a leading presidential contender before a traffic scandal rocked his administration earlier this year.

“It is time for Washington to focus on the few things the Constitution establishes as the federal government’s role,” said Perry, who is not seeking reelection this year, but has been the longest-serving governor in Texas history.

As the audience cheered and stood up, he continued: “Defend our country, provide a cogent foreign policy, and what the heck, deliver the mail, preferably on time and on Saturdays.”

To thunderous applause, an energized Perry boomed: “Get out of the health care businesses, get out of the education business. … Create prosperity again. My fellow conservatives, the future of this nation is upon you, it belongs to you! You have the power to change America.

… You are the path to the future, a light on a distant shore. And you represent the renewed [hope] that America can be great again!”